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UPDATE 3/25/2020: Since this article was writen, Nik Richie is no longer the owner of thedirty. However, the site still does not remove content by request.

TheDirty.com which is a website that allows anyone to submit “dirt” on anyone, such as information on cheating exes, has been known not to ever remove posts, even though they offer a removal request page. There are a few exceptions and these have to do with copyright violations. Our company has dealt with several individuals listed on TheDirty who have sent in multiple removal requests which have been denied.

A search of the DMCA copyright violation notices at chillingeffects.org will show that several individuals have unsuccessfully tried to remove content by sending copyright violation notices to Google (and presumably TheDirty), but most of the time, neither Google nor TheDirty have complied. However, there are a few times that TheDirty and Google have removed content, mainly having to do when a photographer or someone with legal standing has requested. So unless there are some copyrighted images that you are the owner of or unless you have some legal representation, you may be out of luck in removing content from The Dirty, but even then the chances are very slim.

We found an individual that has sent in multiple emails for removal, but Nik Richie, the owner of thedirty, has refused to remove them and instead he has posted the full removal email requests, making the matters worst for this individual. In this case both the original poster and the victim have sent in request without any luck. The victim had even offered to pay for the removal, but Nik declined. Below you can see the full postings:

http://thedirty.com/2013/05/san-diegos-sugar-baby-laura-valente-this-is-good-one/
http://thedirty.com/2013/05/the-removal-chronicles-of-laura-valente-part-1/
http://thedirty.com/2013/05/the-removal-chronicles-of-laura-valente-part-2/
http://thedirty.com/2013/05/the-removal-chronicles-of-laura-valente-part-3/
http://thedirty.com/2013/05/the-removal-chronicles-of-laura-valente-part-4/
http://www.thedirty.com/2013/05/the-removal-chronicles-of-laura-valente-part-5/
http://thedirty.com/2013/06/the-removal-chronicles-of-laura-valente-part-6/
http://thedirty.com/2013/06/the-removal-chronicles-of-laura-valente-part-7/

Nik even posted this on top of the first post:
“*Update: Dear World, I’m not removing this post. Please stop asking. It won’t happen.”

There have been numerous lawsuits against TheDirty, but with the exception one case that is still pending, all have been lost due to the CDA law which protects public forums from liability of what others post.

How We can Help?

Reputation Stars offers TheDirty post removal services. If you have negative posts on thedirty that you would like removed, please contact us. We have successfully removed numerous listings from thedirty legally. If you would like to see some references, they could be provided.  We guarantee post removal from thedirty or you do not pay.

From October 5-8, Las Vegas will be taken over by Pubcon. The gathering is one of the largest annual meetings of search marketing professionals, and discussions will delve deep into all manner of organic search topics. Joining these brilliant minds in search is the veteran SEO and social media marketer: Pierre Zarokian.

Zarokian, who is CEO of Reputation Stars and Submit Express, is an expert on the art of reputation management. Through Reputation Stars, Pierre is successfully growing the reputation management arm of his successful search marketing business. He has developed a proprietary approach that can remove negative reviews and press from Google search results.

“One of the key aspects we look at is Yelp,” says Zarokian, “if a business has a bad Yelp profile, they may lose a lot of business.” Zarokian will discuss the effects that a bad Yelp reputation can have on a growing business, and he will focus on some key takeaways businesses can use to increase positive Yelp reviews.

“Yelp is all over the Web, so there is a good chance it’s the first thing someone sees when they search for local businesses,” says Pierre Zarokian. “Often, the user will bypass Google entirely and go to Yelp to search for businesses in their area.”

Starting at 3:55 on Tuesday, October 6th, Pierre will be joined by other colleagues in the search marketing industry in a roundtable discussion on reputation management. If you attend Pubcon, and you want to grow your business, this session promises insight into one of the next frontiers in search marketing.

If you are interested in attending Pubcon, here is a coupon code that will give you 15% discount: rc-1943915

We have just released a press release titled “Reputation Stars Offers Unique Solutions for Reputation Management.”

In summary, Reputation Stars works with a legal team to try and get most negative reviews removed.  These legal methods often work much better than traditional SEO methods and result in complete removal of the report from the offending site or Google.  Reputation Stars, will use traditional SEO method if the legal method is not an option or if it fails.

Reputation Stars management have 18 years of experience in SEO and online marketing services.  “I got into the reputation management industry because I figured out unique, proprietary ways to help people through their reputation crises,” said Pierre Zarokian, CEO of Reputation Stars.

You can see the full release at:

http://www.benzinga.com/pressreleases/15/03/p5361249/reputation-stars-offers-unique-solutions-for-reputation-management

When Yelp first began, it caught on like wildfire. Users were providing honest ratings, complete with photos, and businesses were receiving valuable bumps in revenue and foot traffic. As time went on, the site became open to gaming. Fake reviews began to pop up, slandering some businesses and inflating others. Yelp recently won a court case that allows it to tailor its reviews as it wants, disabling any chance a business may have had at controlling their Yelp reputation.  It is possible to remove some negative Yelp reviews, but that the chances are very slim.

Asking the Original Poster to Remove

Asking the original poster to remove the review may be your best bet. If you do not know who the poster is try to contact them via Yelp messaging system. However, never ever offer a Yelper money to remove your reviews via Yelp. If you can get a hold of the poster ask them what you can do to make it write. Let them be the one asking for a refund or telling you what it would take to get the review removed.  If you cannot reach an agreement, then read on.

Cease & Desist Letters

If the post contains false information that can be proven, you may want to send the poster a Cease & Desist letter. It is best if you hire an attorney to do this so you can be taken more seriously. Please contact us if you would need an attorney referral.

Lawsuits

You cannot sue Yelp, since the Communications Decency Act protects them, but you can sue the poster. However, be advised that there is a law called the ANTI SLAPP in most US states, which basically allows the defendant to get awarded damages if your lawsuit’s only purpose is to scare them into removing a valid post, which can be proven to be valid and true. You could be liable in paying a large sum of damages.  Additionally, lawsuits are really expensive even if you win, so consider the pros and cons before engaging in a lawsuit. This could also backfire if the poster decides to post more defamatory reviews on other sites and go public with your threats.

Yelp’s Terms of Service

If the review is against some Yelp Terms of Service and content Guidelines, you can simply flag the review and let Yelp know if your reasoning. If you have a valid reason Yelp may remove it. However, be adviced there is only one chance to get Yelp to review a flagged review. If the review gets declined the first time for removal, any further removal requests would result in an automatic email from Yelp stating that someone had already flagged it and they had already reviewed it and found it to be in accordance to the Yelp terms.   This is why it is important that you know what you are doing. We highly recommend that you do not try this method yourself and consult with us first.

Our company has removed many reviews this way and we know what works.  If flagging fails, we then send a legal letter to Yelp with more details and any evidence that we can provide.

Although the chances of removing most reviews this way is low, it is still well worth a shot. We have had about 10% success rate in removing Yelp reviews this way. We also never charge for Yelp removal service unless we are successful.  Every review is different and needs to be analyzed to see if it is a good fit. Please contact us to see what we can do for you.

By Pierre Zarokian
The Digital Millennium Copyright Act was meant to help individuals establish copyrights for their materials online. Unfortunately, it doesn’t work to get defamatory content removed, unless the content was something you owned, such as a section of your website copied or a copied picture that you own the copyright to.  However, be adviced that some sites such as ripoffreport and thedirty.com may not comply with a DMCA take down notice, where the owners use federal protections to justify their behavior.  Sending a notice to Google may not even work, as Google most often asks to deal with the sites directly. We have sent plenty of DMCA notices on behalf of our clients and know what works and what doesn’t.  Unfortunately, most often DMCA would not work to take down defamatory content.

When the DMCA takedown notice fails, there are a few more options left to you.

Establish Your Reputation

You can leverage the power of social media and SEO to help rebuild your reputation after a crisis, and you don’t even need a large budget. It helps to have tools that manage social media for you, identifying what people are saying and who your likely product evangelists are. This lets you build multiple profiles, update content and monitor how everything is performing for you.

Within no time, the negative content will be buried in favor of positive content with a higher user engagement. You also get the bonus of increasing market reach and identifying key influencers you can use to spread your messaging.

This is a service our firm is best at, so if you need a professional to help you, contact us.

Take Legal Action

You cannot sue the site hosting the defamatory content the Communications Decency Act protects them. What you need to do is sue the poster or if it I anonymous you need to sue a “John Doe” and try to subpoena the records of the site hosting the content to find out who posted it. Some sites like Ripoff Report may remove content if you have a court ordered removal and if they don’t Google would most likely comply.

Legal action is costly, and not always guaranteed.  Although our firm does not provide legal removals, we can refer you to one of the best attorneys that does this service.

Nik Richie – thedirty.com

We reported last week that thedirty.com was a victim of hackers taking it down due to DOS attacks. It seems the site has gone live now and Nik Richie has improved his servers and technology. He posted a message on thedirty stating:

“TheDirty.com is back online. We are still under DDoS attack and other attacks, but I’ve put a stronger team in place and rebuilt the infrastructure from scratch. I’m not going anywhere. This year the DIRTY ARMY will rise — I implore you to join.

As you can see the new design is in place. I’m 35% complete and there are many bugs. The castle wall is strong and with your help I’m hoping to build Malbork. So please use this comment section to give us guidance on what you like, don’t like, what to build in your favor, any fixes/bugs to kill and suggestions.

We will win. DIRTY ARMY Strong!- nik”

A speed analysis at Google Insights shows that the site is still a bit slow and this could be because they are still under attack.

If you have been listed on thedirty.com and require removal of your post, please contact us for pricing and details. You can complete the contact form on the right side of this page.

Nik Richie – thedirty.com

A judge just awarded $1.25 million over defamatory comments on Thedirty.com brought by a woman who says comments on the site stated that her 3 children were from 3 different men because she wanted to collect child support and the owner Nik Richie refused to remove them when she requested.

The judgement was awarded against Dirty World Entertainment Recordings. However, TheDirty attorney states that thedirty.com is not owned by that entity and Nik Richie has nothing to do with it. The correct entity that owns Thedirty.com is called the Dirty World, LLC.

The attorney stated that the Sarah Jones judgment last year was also awarded towards the wrong company!

This is what Attorney David Gingras stated:

“In short, Ms. Stewart certainly has obtained a judgment against Dirty World Entertainment Recordings, but that company has nothing whatsoever to do with Dirty World, LLC or TheDirty.com. She is welcome to try to collect that judgment, bearing in mind that the plaintiff in the Sarah Jones case also has an $11 million default judgment against the same entity (see attached copy). However, to the extent that Ms. Stewart claims that she has a judgment against TheDirty.com or Dirty World, LLC, those claims are completely false.”

You can read more details here.

We just reported that thedirty.com was down due to hacker DOS attacks.  Apparantly they also hacked Nik Richie’s icloud account and a personal message from it was posted online showing Nik trying to make a deal with girl or prostitute to sleep with his friends so then he could remove a post…funny stuff.  We have no way of knowing the authenticity of this, so we leave the judgment up to you.

Read below the full messages.

Thedirty.com has been down for the past 2 weeks apparently hit by a group of hackers. The group “Anonymous” seems to be behind it and FBI is currently investigating. However, another group called Justice Squad took credit on youtube as well.

TMZ Reports that the owner Nik Richie has lost over $250K-$300K already in ad revenue due to the hack.

It seems this is a Denial of Service Attack (AKA DOS Attack), which means even if the servers are moved the attack will follow. These hackers are doing some serious attacking because Nik has not been able to put the site back up for the last 2 weeks!

Similar attacks often are launched against ripoffreport.com as well.

TMZ quoted Nik as saying: “These hackers are hypocrites. My website promotes free speech. F****** losers.”

Apparently Nik also had his iCloud account hacked and some personal messages were posted online showing attempts of post removal in return for sex. Read it here.

There is a video of Anonymous from June 2012 that threatens to take down Thedirty, which you can see below.

Here is a screen shot of the post by Justice Squad on Twitter.

Yelp, the online review database that has become an ubiquitous part of the Web, is being accused of shielding companies who pay premiums from bad reviews. Yelp’s sales team has been using poor reviews as a sales tool, implying that businesses can pay their way out of hot water caused by user reviews. Since 2008, some 2,000 complaints have been filed by businesses and consumers.

Yelp also has several problems with anonymous reviews, and currently faces a court order demanding they reveal the identity of users who posted on their website. Yelp has states in its FAQ that pay to play is out, but 2,000 complaints don’t come out of thin air. Something is wrong, and the CEO of our company, Pierre Zarokian, has the latest news on this recent development from his new article featured on Search Engine Journal.